Hairstyles and Facial Hair in the Navy
When it comes to the appearance of men on board, the first thing that comes to mind is usually the uniforms, but not necessarily what the men had on their heads and faces. And yet it is an essential part of a sailor’s appearance, the hair. Whereas in the 17th century, men grew strong beards, usually with elaborately styled moustaches. He wore an elaborately coiffed and powdered wig on his head, made of animal or human hair. In the 18th century, however, the beard was no longer welcome, it was considered to be unclean and socially disreputable if a man wore a beard. In the army and navy, deserters were often associated with it. The wig became shorter and finally disappeared with the French Revolution, as it became associated with the display of wealth.
Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell in a Portrait of 1705, with clean shaved face and powdered wig (left). Captain James Cook in a Portrait of 1782, clean shaved with curled natural hair and pigtail (right)
Sailors and officers also began to shave their faces clean, sometimes with a thin, barely visible line of hair on the sides called wiskers. The hair was long and wrapped in tape or cloth, called a pigtail. But this did not mean that the hair was evenly long. Quite often the front part was short, the sides longer until it became a long braid. Pigtails became so popular that some even resorted to fake ones to get the length they needed. Until 1795, officers’ hair was still powdered and curled on the sides.
Captain Horatio Nelson, clean shaved with natural powdered hair and pigtail in a Portrait of 1781 (left) Rear- Admiral Edward Pellew with short hair and sideburns in a portrait of 1804 (right)
This changed when a powder tax was introduced and it became too expensive to powder the hair. From 1800 onwards, it became apparent that long hair was no longer fashionable and began to give way to shorter hair. One reason was that it was again considered unclean to have long hair and dangerous, as a Sailor could injure himself with such hair. The long hair style, however, gave way only slowly, as it was a way of showing respect for the veterans and heroes who had served so well.
This painting from the Battle of Trafalgar shows the variation in long, medium-length and short hairstyles, such as sideburns, among the men on deck at HMS Victory, by Sammuel Drummond 1806
In 1808, the Marines were ordered to have short hair only. Instead, the wiskers grew into sturdy sideburns, especially during the Wars of 1812, even to very large specimens, but not to a complete beard that it was still considered unseemly. The sideburns could also vary greatly in their design, for example, they had no connection to the main hair but only came from the nape of the neck. Following the line of the jaw.
Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, with short hair and almost rectangular sideburns, c. 1830 (left) Commander James Clark Ross with short hair and neck sideburns, 1834 (right)
This changed from the middle of the 19th century onwards, when it became acceptable again to wear a beard, and it was even considered extraordinarily masculine to have a handsome beard. Instead, the hair was now short and marked by a prominent parting on the side.
The same can be said for the US Navy. During the American Revolution, the Continental Navy kept its men clean-shaven. The resurgence of hostilities with Britain in the early 19th century breathed new life into the young and economically depressed navy. Many of the officers and Sailors chose to grow magnificent sideburns during their service in the War of 1812. Many of their British counterparts also opted for sideburns, as mentioned earlier.
Commodore Stephen Decatur, with curled short hair and sideburns, c. 1815 (left) Commodore David Porter with short hair and sideburns, unknown date (right)
These remained until the Civil War broke out. Here, too, as in England, the hair was worn short in a pregnant side bun. Instead, a whole variation of facial hair was observed. From whole beards, neck beards, moustaches or side beards.
Union Naval Officers with different hair and beardstyles, 1862
So you can see that there were not so many differences between the birthers and the americans and that the styles were also strongly influenced by the prevailing fashion of the time.
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